There is a multiplicity of vehicles having different modes of support and transportation means to assist invalids or disabled persons in moving from one point to another. Typically, wheelchairs suffice for most of indoor use along with motorized vehicles that are designed to be used indoors.
However, there is still a major problem with movement of the disabled in the out-of-doors over gravel, cement, grass, ice, and general rubble in forests and roadways.
Devices have been designed to attempt to overcome this problem consisting essentially of a motor powered vehicle disclosed by C. E. Williams in U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,791, issued Sep. 7, 1965 which has a front ramp to allow the invalid to get into the vehicle while in a wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,259,200 that issued on Jul. 5, 1966 to Maijala deals with a folding self-propelled invalid chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,483 that issued Mar. 7, 1978 to Randolph deals with an electrically powered vehicle for an invalid, said vehicle having a track drive with pivoted idlers accommodating travel over obstacles and through uneven terrain.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,619 that issued on Jun. 20, 2000 to Hammer deals with a self-powered all-terrain vehicle designed for self-assisted transfers of a paraplegic, or other disabled person, between the vehicle and a wheelchair. The vehicle is accessed over the track (fenders) and therefore the vehicle has a height limitation in that it has a passenger seating surface from at least 20 inches and not more than 27 inches above the ground surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,036 that issued Jul. 16, 2002 to Miglia deals with a vehicle for transporting an individual on a wheel chair over land, in which the vehicle utilizes a ramp or platform to allow access into the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,414, that issued on Feb. 10, 2004 to Bruno deals with a vehicle for allowing users with limited physical capabilities to participate in off-road activities. The vehicle includes a housing having a bottom wall, a back wall, and a pair of side walls, a front drive system and a back drive system. The vehicle depends on a ramp to allow accessibility of a handicapped person into the vehicle.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,590 that issued Aug. 12, 2003 to Foulk, Jr. deals with a battery powered all-terrain vehicle for the physically challenged that comprises a battery powered transportation unit that allows a handicapped person to travel on otherwise inaccessible terrain.
None of the above-described vehicles have the capabilities of the device of the instant invention vehicle. For example, the vehicle of this invention allows for the insertion of a wheelchair directly into the front of the vehicle at ground level without a ramp device, or the occupancy of the navigator chair directly from the front at ground level, while the nearest thing to these modes that is in the prior art is low profile vehicles that allow occupancy by going over the fenders.